PCS has been inundated with reports of significant problems arising from the transfer of Civil Service Pensions administration to Capita. Members are reporting delays in processing, inconsistent information, and serious concerns about service quality on top of a backlog of almost 90,000 cases, inherited from the previous contractor, MyCSP/Equiniti. The result is frustration, uncertainty and hardship. The position is totally unacceptable.
Having warned against the risks of the transition, PCS continues to make representations in meetings with the Cabinet Office. Our General Secretary, Fran Heathcote, has written to both the Cabinet Office and to the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer, requesting urgent action is taken; and including the following demands:
- Resourcing clarity: Immediate disclosure of the resources Capita is committing to clear the backlog
- Timetable: A firm estimate from both the Cabinet Office and Capita for how long backlog clearance will take
- Directed prioritisation: A formal instruction that Capita will prioritise hardship cases, those imminently retiring or partially retiring, and bereavement/beneficiary-change cases
- VES assurance: An urgent assurance that, if required by this prioritisation, the completion of Voluntary Exit Schemes will be delayed
- Remit for recovery team: Confirmation that the review team will explicitly include full and meaningful consideration of returning the physical administration of the pension scheme to the civil service.
Act now and write to your Member of Parliament, asking them to support our demands and to write to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, asking them to work with our union to urgently resolve the issues with the administration of the Civil Service pension scheme.
